Background: Insulin resistance is a precursor of numerous chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). The fasting insulin concentration is considered a reasonable surrogate of insulin resistance, especially among nondiabetic individuals.
Objective: We aimed to quantitatively summarize the literature on the association of fasting insulin concentrations with risk of hypertension, stroke, and coronary heart disease (CHD) by conducting a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
Design: Eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed and EMBASE through January 2013. Additional information was retrieved through Google Scholar or a hand review of the reference lists from relevant articles. Prospective cohort studies that reported RRs and corresponding 95% CIs for the association of interest were identified. Data were extracted independently by 2 investigators, and the weighted RRs and 95% CIs for the associations were obtained by using a random-effects model.
Results: Of the 22 identified studies, 10 reported results on hypertension (36,617 individuals and 4491 cases), 7 on stroke (27,887 individuals and 1550 cases), and 9 on CHD (22,379 individuals and 1986 cases). Comparison of the highest with the lowest quantile of fasting insulin concentrations showed a pooled RR (95% CI) of 1.63 (1.35, 1.97) for hypertension, 1.18 (0.87, 1.60) for stroke, and 1.50 (1.28, 1.77) for CHD. Each 50-pmol/L increment in fasting insulin was associated with a 25% increase in risk of hypertension [RR: 1.25 (1.14, 1.36)] and a 16% increase in risk of CHD [RR: 1.16 (1.10, 1.22)] but was not associated with risk of stroke [RR: 0.999 (0.99, 1.01)].
Conclusions: A higher fasting insulin concentration or hyperinsulinemia was significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension and CHD but not stroke. This meta-analysis suggests that early fasting insulin ascertainment in the general population may help clinicians identify those who are potentially at high risk of CVD.

Abstracts Background and Aims This study aimed to investigate the association between baseline fasting insulin levels, changes in fasting insulin levels, and future development of hypertension in normotensive, non-diabetic, healthy adults. Methods We analyzed data from 11,123 adults, aged 20–65 years, who had no history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus at a 2004 medical examination in a health promotion program and had attended a repeat examination in 2008. Subjects were divided into four gr...more

textabstractInsulin resistance, which plays a key role in the development of diabetes mellitus, is a putative modifiable risk factor for stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate if markers of insulin resistance were associated with risk of stroke in the general elderly population. This study was part of the large population-based Rotterdam Study and included 5,234 participants who were aged 55 years or older and stroke free and diabetes free at baseline (1997-2001). Fasting insulin level...more

Epidemiological research into insulin resistance has focused on excess body weight, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), physical activity, and coffee consumption. These common modifiable factors have also been suggested to play a role in the process of carcinogenesis via associations with insulin resistance. Findings of systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses have generally supported an association between excess body weight and DM with an increased risk of colon cancer in males, and of liver...more

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in our society, affecting over one-third of US adults, with two-thirds overweight or obese (1). Trends toward overweight and obesity among younger age groups are alarming; 27.5% of men and 34.0% of women ages 20–39 are obese (1), and 11.3% of children 2–19 years of age are at or above the 97th percentile for 2000 BMI-for-age growth charts (2). The majority of overweight or obese individuals are also insulin resistant (3). The adverse health consequences o...more

Last. Ka He(UNC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)H-Index: 36

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OBJECTIVE Although hyperinsulinemia, a surrogate of insulin resistance, may play a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension (HTN), the longitudinal association between fasting insulin level and HTN development is still controversial. We examined the relation between fasting insulin and incidence of HTN in a large prospective cohort. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective cohort of 3,413 Americans, aged 18–30 years, without HTN in 1985 (baseline) were enrolled. Six follow-ups were conducted in...more

Background and Purpose—Few studies have assessed post-glucose load measures of insulin resistance and ischemic stroke risk, and data are sparse for older adults. We investigated whether fasting and post-glucose load measures of insulin resistance were related to incident ischemic stroke in nondiabetic, older adults. Methods—Participants were men and women in the Cardiovascular Health Study, age 65+ years and without prevalent diabetes or stroke at baseline, followed for 17 years for incident isc...more

Diabetes mellitus and hypertension commonly coexist, but the nature of this link is not well understood. The authors tested whether diabetes and higher concentrations of fasting serum glucose and insulin are associated with increased risk of developing incident hypertension in the community-based Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. At baseline, 3,513 participants were free of hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, or use of antihyperte...more

Abstract Epidemiologic studies have reported conflicting results on the association between insulin resistance and risk of stroke. This meta-analysis sought to evaluate the association between homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and risk of stroke. Eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed and Emabse databases up to December 2018. Prospective observational studies investigating the association between HOMA-IR and incident stroke were included. Seven studies invol...more

(1) Background: The variation in the concentration of different components found in milk depends on mammalian species, genetic, physiological, nutritional factors, and environmental conditions. Here, we analyse, for the first time, the content of different components (cholesterol concentration and fatty acids composition as well as the overall fat and mineral content determined using the same analytical methods) in milk of different mammal species. (2) Methods: The samples (n = 52) of human, cow...more

Metal exposure has recently been related to the risk of hypertension. However, the association remains unclear and relevant epidemiologic studies are limited. The present study aimed to assess the associations between exposure to metals and the odds of hypertension, as well as blood pressure (BP) levels. A total of 816 participants were enrolled in southwestern China. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP (SBP) of >/=140 mmHg or diastolic BP (DBP) of >/=90 mmHg, a self-reported physician dia...more

Background To examine the association between changes in fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and insulin-glucose ratio (IGR) levels, over approximately 3 years with incident hypertension.

#1Shao-wei Chen(CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 1

#2Zi-hui Chen(CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 1

Last. Jie-wen Peng(CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 1

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Summary Background & aims The association between dietary acid load and hypertension risk is inconclusive. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize effect of dietary acid load on blood pressure. Methods A comprehensively search was performed in electronic databases including EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure. Summary ORs and their corresponding 95% CIs were computed assuming a randomized model or fixed model. Results Ten publicati...more

ABSTRACTAccess to medications is a critical determinant of health which often mediates the effects of diseases and leads to healthier lifestyles. With limited access to pharmacies, neighborhoods become pharmacy deserts. The purpose of this study was to explore the medication needs and perceptions of low-income community residents. A purposive sample of 40 low-income community residents participated in focus groups. Content analysis revealed four themes: transitioning to the present, stereotyping...more

Abstract The global epidemic of obesity is a major public health problem today. Obesity increases the risk of many chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and certain types of cancer, and is associated with lower life expectancy. The body mass index (BMI), which is currently used to classify obesity, is only an imperfect measure of abnormal or excessive body fat accumulation. Studies have shown that waist circumference as a measure of fat distribution may improve disea...more